The U.S. government is seeking the identity of Coinbase users for tax purposes, sparking fears that Bitcoin’s anonymity may be compromised. According to a legal summons filed in the Northern California District Court, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeks to identify several Coinbase users and their financial activity, based on evidence that they may have violated U.S. tax laws: “Based upon a review of the petition and supporting documents, the Court has determined that the “John Doe” summons to Coinbase, Inc. relates to the investigation of an ascertainable group or class of persons, that there is a reasonable basis for believing that such group or class of persons has failed or may have failed to comply with any provision of any internal revenue laws, and that the information sought to be obtained from the examination of the records or testimony (and the identities of the persons with respect to whose liability the summons is issued) are not readily available from other sources.” As indicated by the summons, two things are clear: one, the IRS has tracked Bitcoin-related activity sufficiently to be able to determine that certain users may not be in compliance with tax law, and two, this activity …

CoinTelegraph contacted the eight major providers of Bitcoin debit cards with the question: Can Bitcoin debit cards really be private or anonymous? Below are the results, categorized by region and level of disclosure required. Financial privacy: Bitcoin vs. banks One of the main advantages of using Bitcoin over traditional funding methods is privacy. When a Bitcoin transaction is sent, its record is permanent and public on the blockchain, but not tied to any particular identity. Many users, such as those who frequented the Silk Road, prefer Bitcoin for exactly this reason: it’s anonymous and private. However, one of the major challenges of using Bitcoin is the limited number of merchants and services that accept it as payment. Enter Bitcoin debit cards, a product that takes Bitcoin and converts it into currency for use at traditional merchants. The challenge with Bitcoin debit cards is that, by and large, they tend to require the same level of financial disclosure of traditional financial institutions. While this is still an advantage over banks, which can shut down the account of a customer at any time under any pretense (especially under pressure from government), it still does not constitute financial privacy. Full identification (US) Coinbase Coinbase has …

Coinbase has announced the launch of its Instant Exchange, which will allow users to buy and sell bitcoin whilst protecting them against the digital currency’s price volatility. Users with euro, dollar or pound Coinbase accounts will be able to purchase or sell bitcoin directly on the company’s website. Once their instant buy or sell order has been executed, the funds will be withdrawn from or credited to the users’ local currency wallet. Coinbase said in a blog post: “We are excited to offer these simple tools which will allow Coinbase users to realise the fast, cheap and global nature of bitcoin payments without exposure to bitcoin price changes.” According to the company’s website, the newly launched feature will be subject to Coinbase’s standard conversion fees and users will also have to adhere to their standard limits, which can be checked by logging into their accounts. The news comes shortly after Coinbase announced it was suspending operations in Wyoming due to regulatory legislation.

I’ve recently started trading bitcoins algorithmically on the new Coinbase exchange. After reading about high-frequency trading in the book Flash Boys by Michael Lewis, I decided I’d give it a shot myself, albeit in a clumsier, more amateurish way. The experience has been fascinating, both on a technical level, and in a strategic sense. Writing logic that controls money itself is a strange thing. Setting it loose for the first time, knowing that any bug could literally throw away cash, was terrifying. Bitcoin is an incredibly open system that is particularly friendly to no-name developers. The exchanges have open API’s that allow anyone, literally anyone, to trade. There’s no premium access, no expensive trading floor credentials. It’s totally open – I love that. Shark infested waters As I’ve designed my trading bot, I’ve come to realize how much strategic depth there is to these sorts of games. The exchanges are already rife with trading bots; these are shark infested waters. Bots dance around each other in a chaotic swirl. They employ so many diverse strategies. It’s like so many microbes competing in the primordial ooze. Entering into this environment, I had to be immediately cognizant of other bots. Algorithmic traders …

This page compares and reviews the best Bitcoin wallets available today Since almost every other day a new Bitcoin wallet comes out a lot of beginners are having a hard time deciding what’s the best Bitcoin wallet for them. We decided to create an easy to use comparison table which will allow you to choose your wallet according to key features such as security, privacy, user friendliness etc. Coinbase Bitcoin wallet review Summary: Coinbase is the leading exchange service today in buying and selling Bitcoins. It was founded in 2012 and since then has received over US$31 million in venture capital funding. The Bitcoin exchange service is available in 19 countries around the world. Their Online wallet is beginners friendly but the fact that the company holds your funds is can be somewhat risky. Having said that Coinbase has recently launched their Vault service which denies the company control over your funds. Pros: Beginner friendly, ability to add funds from within the wallet. Established and respectable company. Cons: Company has some control over your funds (depends if you’re using Vault). Not supported worldwide (yet). Click here to visit the Coinbase’s website Blockchain.info Bitcoin wallet review Summary: The most popular Bitcoin wallet today, Blockchain.info allows …

Californian bitcoin API developer Gem has announced an additional $1.3m in funding, raising its total to $3.3m. The round was led by KEC Ventures, with additional contributions from First Round Capital, RRE Ventures– also an investor in 21 Inc and Abra – and early Facebook investor Robert Wolfson, among others. Gem closed its previous round in September last year after receiving funds from Mesa Ventures, Idealab, James Joaquin and Brock Pierce’s investment firm, Crypto Currency Partners. A spokesperson for the platform said the newly acquired funds would be used to accelerate feature development and scale Gem’s services for developers worldwide. Multi-sig wallet Gem’s funding coincides with the launch of its multi-signature wallet API, which is now publicly available following a series of improvements. Approximately 40% of people using Gem’s API are from outside the United States – dispersed throughout Europe, Asia and South America. The new API aims to ease integration for this worldwide user base, while providing added security measures to protect bitcoin wallets and keys. Ken Miller, COO at Gem, said the security improvements had taken “massive amounts of time and energy to bring to the market”. However, he added: “It just was not an area we were willing to compromise.” The system now uses Hardware Security …